On this UT board vote, the ‘losing’ side could win

The governing board of the University of Texas typically operates under a majority-rules system. In other words, when something is put to a vote, the side with the most votes wins. On Wednesday, the nine-member board is expected to take up a matter that would allow as few as two regents to prevail against the majority.

Chalk that anomaly up to the board’s Rule 10801, which deals with access to information. Under the rule, a regent’s request for information is to be filled “without delay” if at least two regents vote to grant it. The purpose of the rule is to show that the UT System wants to show that it is transparent, not opaque.

In this case, Regent Wallace L. Hall Jr. has made two requests. He wants an opportunity to question a senior official of Kroll Associates Inc., which investigated admissions practices at UT-Austin. Hall also wants “any and all” investigation-related information, “confidential and otherwise,” that had been slated for destruction but that has been retained as a result of an open-records request.

Hall will probably get what he wants, inasmuch as he needs just one other regent to vote with him. It’s also possible that other members of the UT board will move at some point to tighten the rule and require a greater number of votes for a regent’s information request to be granted.

One well-placed source put it this way: “I think you’ll see some calls for rules changes in the not-too-distant future.”

Hall has been a thorn in the side of UT-Austin for a few years, largely because of his relentless requests for information. His actions prompted a state House panel to censure him after a lengthy investigation. And last week, a Travis County grand jury condemned him but did not indict him for what it called “abusive excess” in seeking information.

Hall’s effort to dig deeper into admissions comes as the UT board is poised to name Gregory Fenves to succeed Bill Powers as president of the Austin flagship. The Kroll report revealed that Powers sometimes ordered the admissions office to accept applicants with subpar academic credentials who had been touted by regents, legislators and other influential people. As executive vice president and provost, Fenves oversees admissions. The UT board voted 5-3 on March 27 to name Fenves the sole finalist for president. Under state law, the board must wait 21 days — until April 17 — to firm up the appointment.

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